Life in Plastic, It’s Fantastic

Most every little girl grows up idolizing her Barbie (or, in my case, one Barbie for every day of the week). And with her flowing blonde hair, doe eyes, endless legs, impossibly huge knockers and impressive litany of degrees and professions (astronaut, surgeon, racecar driver, need we continue), even grown women want to emulate the plastic bombshell. That is, until Hayden Wood’s latest photographic series, Living Dolls, hit the online stratosphere.

Honed from six years working as a creative retoucher and graphic artist, Wood uses sleight of hand to manipulate a flesh-and-bone man and woman into the iconic Ken and Barbie dolls. From their massive, glazed over eyes and waxy skin to their vacant expressions and disproportionate, awkwardly posed bodies, the models’ creepy, unnatural appearances defy anything human.

While super thought-provoking, it’s safe to say these pics have quashed any lingering childhood dream of having my dolls spring to life.